N23A-T024 - Compact Condensers Enabled by Additive Manufacturing

In response to topic N23A-T024 of the Navy STTR 23.A solicitation, titled ōCompact Condensers Enabled by Additive Manufacturingö, Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) will develop a 3D printed refrigerant to water condenser for use in electronic cooling systems. The proposed condenser is compact and easy to scale up. Enhancing flow condensation heat transfer leads to reducing the size of thermal management hardware. However, compared to extensive efforts in fabricating efficient evaporators, less research has been conducted to develop efficient heat rejection components. As a result, still commercial condensers are too large. ACTÆs proposed condenser is capable to enhance condensation heat transfer based on the innovative internal structure of the condenser without a penalty in the pressure drop across the refrigerant and water sides. While fabrication of such internal structure with thin walls is almost infeasible by conventional manufacturing processes, 3D printing substantially simplifies the fabrication process, thereby reduces the risk and cost associated with labor-intensive steps of traditional manufacturing.